A/N: Juvia's parts of this chapter will make almost no sense. Please remember she's been drugged therefore her thought process is not lucid. Her memory of recent events not only comes and goes, but is vague at best.

I do not own Fairy Tail

Chapter Nine - The Other Gray

Consciousness returned slowly. Little bits and pieces of information flittered into my brain but I couldn't put everything together to make a complete picture. I was slumped on the floor. Not quite lying down, not quite sitting up. My head was a hazy mess. What happened? I couldn't remember. Where was I? I didn't know. Forget that then. Maybe I should get up. The thought was there but my body was staging a revolt against my mind. I thought sit up, stand up, move! My arms and legs refused to obey. Something simpler then. I tried to open my eyes. My body ignored even that command. I felt sick. Maybe lying still was best after all. There was a loud banging in my ear. What was that? Oh, my heart. No, my heart was beating real slow. Felt like ten beats a minute or something ridiculous like that. So this sound was... someone else's heart?

I'd had two seconds to make a choice. Continue beating the shit out of that guy or catch Juvia before she hit the floor. It'd been a no brainer.

So here I was on the floor of the club with a very unconscious Juvia in my arms. Quite frankly, she was scaring me to death. My aversion to tears was only the tip of the iceberg. I had a healthy dislike of doctors and illnesses too. I'd spent far too many years watching Ultear bounce in and out of various hospitals. Some were planned visits to yet another specialist, some were 3am trips to A&E but none of them were pleasant. I didn't even want to think about the last hospital bed I'd stood by. That memory was a raw wound and might always be that way. "Juvia, can you hear me?" I brushed the hair out of her face and squeezed her gently. Please wake up, please, please...

Someone was calling me. Holding me. Their heart still beat in my ear. I must be leaning against their chest. Weird. What was I doing here? Parts of my brain were waking up and warning bells were starting to ring. I had to get up. There was an important reason why I couldn't be lying here. Think, think...

"Is she okay," a girl asked, handing me a glass.

"I don't know. She fainted. Is this water?" Enno's comment that Juvia was a ninja girl was obviously a gross overestimation of her abilities. Not that any of this was her fault, but I'd have really appreciated it if she could have held off on fainting for a minute or two more. Two bouncers were manhandling that wannabe rock star lookalike out the door even now. I still wanted to kill him but my chance was gone.

"Yeah. I thought it might help. She probably didn't eat. It's a bad habit. Most of us forget that not eating before a performance is totally different to not eating before a night out."

We were attracting a crowd but no one seemed particularly perturbed. Enno was always quick to deny having any kind of eating disorder but I'd seen her obsess over the scale if it dared move an ounce in the wrong direction. Dancers like her felt the pressure to look a certain way. If you had to faint to get that look, so be it, or so went the unspoken rule. I didn't bother correcting the girl's assumption. I accepted the water and turned my attention back to Juvia. Her eyelids were fluttering. "Juvia, wake up. I've got water for you."

Vidaldus. The drugged drink. I remembered. I had to get up now, right now.

It was like swimming through molasses but I fought through the confusion and forced my eyes open. Shit. The world spun around me, flashing lights making my eyes burn. Where there had once been only a heartbeat, now the sound of some terrible song assaulted my ears. It was sensory overload at its worse. I couldn't help reclosing my eyes, at least until I could adjust.

Someone was pressing a glass to my lips. Instinctively, I struggled away. The last thing I wanted was more of that drug in my system. The grip on me tightened and a familiar voice in my ear said, "Juvia, its Gray. Please drink this. It's water. You'll feel better."

Gray-sama. What was he doing here? I managed to open my eyes a tiny bit and his face swam into focus above me. "Drink this," he said again and I took a tiny sip. The liquid was warm and bland but definitely just water. It slid down my throat like the sweetest champagne. I took greedy gulps, trying to rid myself of the terrible aftertaste left by the drug.

I let out a sigh of relief. Juvia was awake. She was obviously a little disorientated, but awake nonetheless. I pulled her up so she was sitting properly and she finished off the glass of water in record time.

"Alright, nothing to see here. Break it up!" The bouncers were back. The one on the right pointed at us and said, "You two, out now."

Typical. "Give us a minute."

He reached for Juvia and I pushed his hand away, "She fainted. She needs to sit for a bit."

"Fainted? Passed out more likely. Look kid, I've been doing this for years. I've got one idiot outside with a dislocated shoulder and a black eye. You and Miss Party Hard are in here playing at being lovers. You want to fight over a girl? Knock yourselves out. Just don't do it in my club."

"She's not drunk! She's had like one drink." This guy was such an ass.

"I don't care if she's a lightweight. You both need to leave now. You can explain what happened to the police outside."

Juvia tried to get away from me again, "No. No police. Juvia doesn't... Juvia can't... No!" Her words slurred and ran into each. I could barely understand her.

"Okay, okay," I said trying to soothe her but it was like Juvia couldn't hear me. She tried to stand up but her co-ordination was completely gone. The bouncer shot me a look and I held back another comment on how little Juvia had to drink that night. It was hard to deny that she was acting drunk. I slipped her shoes off because it was obvious she wasn't going to be able to walk in her heels. I pulled her to her feet and readjusted my evaluation of her state. I doubted she could walk at all. She was really unsteady. Most of her weight was on me. If I let go of her she'd probably fall right back down. What the hell? I'd seen her fifteen minutes ago and she'd been perfectly lucid. Not even tipsy.

The world was still spinning. I hardly knew which direction was up. I had to lean on Gray-sama because my legs felt like jelly. My body wouldn't do anything I told it to. One part of my brain was telling me I had to find Vidaldus and deal with him before things got out of hand but most of my brain was screaming about how much was going wrong with almost every part of my body. There was nothing I could do until this drug wore off. I let my head rest on Gray-sama's shoulder and gave up trying to do anything other than hold down the bile that rose in the back of my throat. I'd just have to trust him.

The bouncer helped me half walk, half drag Juvia to the door. I'd never seen anyone get this hammered in so short an amount of time. In fact, it was virtually impossible. I had a growing suspicion that putting his hand over her mouth and pinning her to the wall wasn't all that bastard had done to Juvia. Or all he had planned.

I swept Juvia up, bridal-style, because that was the only way to get her up the seven steps at the club entrance. She hung limp in my arms, like a rag doll. She'd all but blacked out again. Fucking hell. When I found that creep I was going to finish what I'd started and make him regret leaving his house tonight. A disgusting lowlife like him didn't deserve to see the light of another day.

At the top of the stairs the bouncer dropped Juvia's shoes in her lap. I supposed I should have been grateful he'd bothered bringing them at all. "Here's the other one," he said and nudged me in the direction of a police officer.

"You again?"

Crap. It was the same officer that'd driven by Lyon, Enno and me earlier.

"I thought you were taking your friend home?"

I nodded, "Yeah well, I had to come back and get this friend."

The officer leaned over Juvia and frowned, "You seem to be 'friends' with quite a few girls in difficult circumstances."

That was one way of putting it. What could I say? I was having a shit Saturday night.

He sighed, "Young girls don't realize how much danger they put themselves in getting this intoxicated. You know where she lives?"

I was about to reply when Juvia's eyes re-opened.

The only thing I knew for certain was that I kept drifting in and out of consciousness. I had no clue what was happening. I opened my eyes to see a police officer looming over me. Long ingrained reflexes kicked in. Teachers could be intimidated, fellow students were usually worthless wasters of space, someone from a rival gang was a target but if you saw an officer of the law you did whatever it took not to get caught.

I fought against the arms that held me and was placed hastily on my feet. I made it two steps before my legs gave way and I ended up on the pavement.

Fuck. My hands smarted and I felt a trickle of warm blood on my face. My reflexes were far too slow.

What happened? Where was I? Why couldn't I walk?

Mavis, help me. Juvia just about scratched my eye out trying to get away from me and then face planted the sidewalk the second I set her down. Her arms trembled but she managed to push herself onto her hands and knees. I knelt next to her and put my hand on her back, "Juvia-"

"Don't touch Juvia!"

"Okay. I won't." I rested my hands on my knees instead. "It's Gray. I'm trying to take you home."

"Gray...sama?"

"Yeah, that's me. Can I take you home please?"

"Does she need to go to the hospital?"

I turned back to the officer, "I don't know. Maybe. I think her drink was spiked. I've never seen her like this before."

"No! No hospital. No police. Away. Not here..." Juvia started slumping forward. I instinctively caught her and we were back in a position not too dissimilar to how we'd been before, back on the floor of the club. Her skin was clammy to touch and she'd scraped her face when she fell. She looked a hot mess.

"I think you should go get checked out by a doctor," I said and felt her forehead.

Juvia shook her head vehemently, "No!"

The officer gazed suspiciously down at us. "Spiked? That's a serious accusation. Any reason she's so desperate to avoid the police and medical attention?"

"Her parents will freak out," I lied. I don't know why. It just seemed like the best thing to do. Juvia was acting like the police were her worst enemy. Another split second decision to make... I lied again, "Maybe she had more to drink than I thought. I'll take care of her."

The officer grunted. "Kids. The information I received from security is they don't know who started it, and they don't care. All they wanted was the three of you out of their establishment. The other guy wasn't too keen on a trip to the hospital either and disappeared real quick. Anything you'd like to add to that?"

I had a hell of a lot to add to that. About illicit drugs and guys who forced themselves on unsuspecting girls. They let that creep walk away? No questions asked? I opened my mouth and then shut it. What more could I add that wouldn't get me in a hell of a lot of trouble for starting a fight? The only person that could say for a fact what happened was Juvia and not only was she totally out of it but she was also giving off the impression that she had something to hide. Which I doubted, but her behaviour would sure seem suspicious to anyone else, spiked drink or not. In any case, that creep was long gone. I got us both up off the pavement, wrapped one of Juvia's arms around my neck for balance and managed to collect her shoes. "No, sir."

"Fine. I bet none of your parents know what you're doing out here. Take her home and give her some water. I don't want to see either of you out on this street again tonight."

My body was swaying, gently side to side. I opened my eyes just a crack. The world was no longer spinning and there was no loud thumping of music or hearts. I watched, confused, as legs that weren't mine took one step after another. I was still moving forward though. How was that possible? Wait, my legs were there too, dangling uselessly, angry red scrapes on both my knees. Ah, someone was carrying me. The person paused and hoisted me higher. My chin banged against their shoulder. I guess there was a reason my last piggyback ride had been when I was ten. I opened my mouth to find out who I was with and the nausea I'd been fighting decided enough was enough.

"Down."

"We're not there yet," I said, a little surprised to hear Juvia's voice. I'd tried finding a taxi to take us back to the girls' dorm but no one was willing to take a girl who looked like she'd be sick any second. I'd thought about texting Lyon to find out if he could turn around and pick us up but that would just have been more drama. What with Lyon freaking out about his "wife" and Enno feeling guilty, like any of this was her fault. Thanks, but no thanks. So I'd settled Juvia on my back and started walking. She'd come around a few times, mumbled incoherently and then gone quiet again. In the last half hour or so I'd heard everything from "The sea monkey has my money" to "Gajeel-kun, we need to neutralise the threat." I always knew Juvia had an overactive imagination but inside her head seemed like a crazy place. "Down" was the first word she'd spoken that, given our situation, actually made any sense.

"No. Down. Please. Juvia feels sick."

Oh. I set Juvia gently on her feet not a second to soon. She stumbled to the side of pavement and threw up in the bushes. I rubbed her back in soothing circles. Poor girl. On a positive note, she was able to stand on her own two feet and maybe she'd feel better once she got it out of her system. "Are you okay?"

I didn't know who this boy was. I didn't know where I was. I couldn't remember anything. Panic welled up inside me. What the hell was going on?

Calm down. Think. What was the last thing I remembered? School. No, school was yesterday. Today was Saturday. Gajeel-kun and I helped Makarov-sensei like usual. After that... A club. The Crypt. Enno. Gray-sama calling me a bitch. The memory was like a punch in the stomach.

I started crying.

Ah shit. "Don't cry Juvia. It's okay. You're fine."

"Juvia is... not fine!" She gasped out. It sounded like she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Just breathe okay?"

"Juvia hates this! Juvia doesn't want to feel this anymore!"

"Okay. Fine. Look, I know you probably don't feel that great right now but you need to calm down." I looked up and down the street. There was a bus shelter not too far from us. "Come on. Let's sit down for a bit."

I took her arm and guided her to the bench inside the shelter. What was I supposed to do with her? Juvia was damn near hysterical. I begged, I pleaded, I tried to reason with her. The tears kept coming no matter what I said. At a loss, I scratched my head, paced anxiously up and down, finally sat down next to her, and pulled her into an awkward one arm hug. What else could I do?

I cried until there was nothing left. Eventually, the tears stopped and my breathing evened out. I felt like a wrung out washcloth. On top of that, I was still dizzy, my stomach was threatening to be sick again and now my throat hurt from all the crying too. The boy with me had sat in silence and kindly let me blubber all over his shoulder. I wiped my face and finally had a proper look at him. I was surprised, "You look like Gray-sama."

"I am Gray-sa- I mean, I am Gray."

"No," I shook my head slowly, "Gray-sama would not be here with Juvia. Gray-sama hates Juvia." He'd called me a bitch and left me in that club. After that... I didn't know. The next thing I remembered was this boy carrying me. Now that I'd calmed down, I instinctively gave him a good once over. He kept fading in and out of focus which made my stomach roll so it took me longer than usual to figure him out. No obvious tattoos, no weapons, no signs of aggression. Not a gang member. I switched to scoping the street. No recognisable landmarks, a blurry mix of residential and business properties. Probably on the border of downtown Magnolia. As for myself... My head was fuzzy. Vision unreliable. Body uncooperative. The scratches on my knees and palms smarted. Had I fallen over and hit my head? There was a huge gap in my memory but I sensed that this boy didn't want to harm me. That'd have to be good enough for now.

"I don't hate you."

"Gray-sama does. He called Juvia a... a..."

"I absolutely did not mean that."

"You didn't say it. Gray-sama did."

What the fuck? "Juvia, I'm Gray. Don't you recognise me?" This was weird. One moment she seemed to remember what had happened and the next she was acting like she didn't even know who I was.

Juvia ran a hand over my shoulder and smoothed the damp patch on my shirt. "Gray-sama is not the shoulder to cry on type."

"Yeah well, there's a first time for everything. Are you feeling okay?" Did she really think it wasn't me? As if this night couldn't possibly get any more stressful...

"Juvia is thirsty."

Right. At least that was something I could fix. "Can you walk?"

She nodded but once we stood up it was obvious she was still wobbly. Okay, piggyback round two.

This 'Gray' looked uncannily like my Gray-sama. That is, when he stayed still long enough for me to actually see him. He had the same broad shoulders, the same facial features I knew so well but I wasn't fooled. Gray-sama was always cold to me. He ignored me a lot of the time, told me to go away most of the rest of the time and tonight my worst fears had been confirmed. Gray-sama called me a bitch. He hated me. Everything good that had happened this past week was immediately nullified. We might have been on the verge of something special before. Yo-yoing back and forth over some invisible line. Usually, it was something stupid I said or did that drove Gray-sama away. This time I'd done what I thought, no what I knew was right, stood up for a girl who couldn't do it for herself and for what? I didn't regret helping Enno. No one deserved that, but as the saying went 'no good deed goes unpunished'.

Gray-sama thought I was a mean girl. A horrible person. There was no way Gray-sama would be so caring with me after saying something like that. I wasn't sure what was going on, how I'd ended up in the middle of nowhere with this perfect doppelgänger of the man I loved but the scar left on my heart was real enough. I laid my cheek on the boy's shoulder and let him carry me away. I hardly cared any more. I didn't want to think or remember or feel. I was done with this.

Juvia had gone quiet again. I was thinking that maybe I should have let that cop take her to the hospital after all. I didn't know the first thing about taking care of someone after they'd had their drink spiked. She was clearly feeling unwell and, although her motor control now was a huge step up from before, she was still unsteady on her feet. To top it all off, she was delusional. How could she not recognise me? She'd kept her eyes on me all year for goodness sake. I bit back a sigh and kept walking.

We had finally made it to a part of Magnolia I was familiar with. I set Juvia down on an old wooden bench outside a tiny 24-hour shop. "Juvia, Juvia?" I shook her gently and she blinked up at me. "Don't move, okay? I'll be right back." I waited for her to nod then went to get her a bottle of water. Or three.

Something sharp stung my knee, startling me out of a muddled dream of a boy with long hair and vicious eyes. I lashed out, grabbing the shirt of the person hurting me, "What are you doing?"

"Damn it Juvia! It's Gray. Let go of me."

"Gray-sama?" My eyesight was blurry, but a familiar face swam in and out of focus. It finally settled down into not one Gray-sama but two of him. Both on their knees in front of me. Had to be a dream. Unless... "Which one's the real Gray-sama?"

"It's only me here Juvia." His fingers curled around mine, coaxing me to release him. "I guess this ninja girl thing comes and goes."

"Ninja girl?" I mumbled and flinched away when the stinging pain returned to my knee.

"Just something Enno said. Sit still, I'm trying to clean you up."

My brain was so slow. "What happened to Juvia?"

He hesitated then replied, "You tripped. I'm taking care of you. Just relax, okay?"

Juvia didn't seem convinced but she did let go of my shirt and I went back to cleaning the scrapes on her knees. It was only a small convenience store so my options were somewhat limited but I had managed to buy water, band-aids and a tiny tube of antiseptic cream. I'd also spent two minutes on my phone looking up the symptoms of a spiked drink. Loss of balance, visual problems, memory loss, confusion, paranoia, hallucinations and nausea just to name a few. The whole thing seemed rather grim and Juvia's behaviour fit the bill. Physically, she seemed to be getting better but mentally she was all over the place. Maybe I should take her to a hospital after all? I poured more water over her knee and she flinched again, "Sorry. Are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital?"

"No. Juvia can't. They'll know Juvia was in a fight and ask questions Juvia doesn't want to answer."

"You weren't really in a fight." I paused for a second. Now that I wasn't brimming over with aggression a few things weren't adding up right. The black eye I could claim but the bouncer had said something about that guy having a dislocated shoulder. I sure as hell didn't remember doing that. I tried to think harder. What really happened in those ten seconds between me seeing Juvia with that guy and her passing out? "Did you…?" I started to ask but stopped myself. That was a ridiculous idea.

Juvia had her eyes closed, her head tilted slightly to one side. She looked tired, unusually pale, and fragile as a gossamer strand of a spider's web. I squeezed her thigh lightly, "Don't worry. I'll take good care of you."

Now that her knee was rinsed clean I had to apply the cream, but her skin was still wet. I hadn't thought of that. I didn't remember seeing a towel in the store and I didn't want to use tissue because it'd stick to the wound. I leaned back on my heels and thought for a moment.

It was Gray-sama. I knew because he stripped off his shirt. Both of him. At the same time. It was a little overwhelming actually. I mean, one Gray-sama was enough for me. Two was... some kind of fantasy turned into reality. I tried not to stare too much as he tore his shirt into strips and dried my knee.

Juvia occasionally flinched away, but for the most part she let me get on with my spontaneous first aid treatment. I finished both her knees, treated half a dozen tiny cuts on her hands and moved on to the scratch on her face. I obviously couldn't pour the water directly over it without getting her soaking wet so I dampened one strip of my shirt and dabbed gently. She winced and jerked back.

"Sorry, it's just a little more and then we're done." I gently cupped the back of her neck and held her still as I wiped off the smear of dried blood. "I hope you don't scar easily."

A tiny smile flickered across her face, "Juvia has had worse than this."

I didn't like the sound of that statement but didn't push her. For all I knew Juvia still thought I wasn't the "real" Gray and was imagining herself in some fantasy world. I let out a sigh and my breath stirred her hair. "I'm sorry Juvia. This shouldn't have happened to you."

This. What this? My mind struggled for memories. Why was I here? Why was Gray-sama being so gentle, almost tender, with me? He patted my cheek dry and smoothed a thin layer of cream on. I watched him rifle through the box of band-aids, trying to choose one the right size. There was something off with this scene. Something barely remembered...

"There we go," I pressed gently and the adhesive took, "We're done. I brought you some water to drink too."

Juvia accepted the bottle with trembling hands and took a long swallow. I sat down next to her and placed my arm across her shoulders. "We can sit here for a couple minutes and then I'll carry you the rest of the way home." It felt like I was getting the hang of this caring thing.

"Why?" Juvia asked softly.

"You need to be in bed. I promise you'll feel better tomorrow."

She shook her head and glanced at me with tears in her eyes, "Why are you being so kind to Juvia? You don't even know Juvia."

So we were back to that. "Juvia, it's me, Gray."

"No, it's not. Gray-sama would never be this nice to Juvia. Juvia remembers. Juvia knows what Gray-sama said." Her lower lip started trembling, "Gray-sama called Juvia a bitch and left Juvia all by herself and then... then something bad happened."

Fuck. Guilt slammed into me. This was my fault. "Juvia, I'm so sorry. I never meant to say that to you. I know you're not a mean girl or a bitch. I got the situation all wrong and I apologise for that. Enno explained everything to me. I feel like an idiot. I... I'm sorry this happened to you. Maybe it wouldn't have if I hadn't freaked out like that. I shouldn't have left you alone. Did that guy buy you a drink? Do you remember drinking anything?"

It was like I hadn't said a word. "Gray-sama said... Gray-sama thinks..." One gasping sob escaped and Juvia was back on the brink of tears.

Quite frankly, I'd had my share of crying girls for the night, the month, the year. On top of that, the one thing I hated more than a girl I knew crying was knowing I was the cause of her tears. I had to be the biggest bastard in Magnolia tonight. "Please don't start that again. You're killing me here Juvia. I'm really sorry okay? I'll make this up to you. I don't know how, but I will okay? What do you want? Anything. I'll give it you. Just please don't cry. Please?"

"What Juvia wants no one can give." I took a shaky breath and managed to hold back all but a few of the tears. My head was already throbbing and I knew crying would only make it worse. Plus this other Gray had done so many kind things for me and all he'd asked for in return was for me not to cry. I remembered him now. He'd been carrying me for awhile I think. "Are you Juvia's friend?"

"Yes. Gray. Come on Juvia. I know you'd never forget me."

I nodded, "Because you look like Gray-sama." There was only one person here now which meant that before both Gray-sama and this other Gray had been here. But Gray-sama had left. Again. He must really despise me.

The boy sighed, "Juvia, I am Gray."

They not only looked identical, they had the same name. I fumbled with that idea for a moment but I couldn't imagine myself saying the name Gray out loud without the appropriate honorific so I simply nodded. I drank more of the water, trying to soothe my aching throat and ease my headache.

We sat in silence for awhile. I don't know what Juvia was thinking but I was racked with a sense of guilt that was almost too heavy to bear. Juvia would never have been at that club if I hadn't been there. I took it for granted that she'd be wherever I was and never gave it a thought that a lot of the time she went places where the only person she knew was me, and I usually spent all night pretending she didn't exist. I should have kept a better eye on her from the get go. Instead I'd palmed her off on Lyon. A guy she only met a week ago. Little wonder she'd found some excuse to give him the slip and track down Enno. Mavis only knew what they'd talked about but long story short - Juvia had gone out of her way to do something unbelievably brave and kind for Enno who must, at least in Juvia's mind, tick all the right boxes for being a legit love rival. How many people would stand up for a stranger, never mind someone they had reason to dislike?

I ran a hand over my face and barely managed to suppress a groan. I was such a jerk to Juvia, on so many levels while she was proving herself to be every bit the angel Lyon thought she was. "Juvia, I'm so sorry. Truly, I am. I promise I'll take good care of you tonight and get you home safely. Tomorrow… You'll probably want to sleep this off actually, so maybe sometime next week instead, I'll make this up to you. How about I spend a day just with you? You'd like that right? We could catch a movie or go to lunch or revise together or whatever. You decide."

My offer sounded like what it was. A badly concealed consolation prize or, even worse, a bribe in exchange for her forgiveness. I didn't know what else to say though. Juvia had said no one could give her what she wanted and that was beyond a doubt true. Because what Juvia wanted most was no secret. Her one true desire was to own my heart. That was something I couldn't give her. Would never give her or any other girl. I could give her some time though, a little common courtesy, enough respect to stop acting like such a dick around her. At the very least try to be friends with her like I always claimed we were. "What do you think? Juvia?"

The night sky above us was full of stars. I thought that maybe the view from this rickety old bench described my relationship with Gray-sama perfectly. He was distant, silent and cold. Sure, I knew that in reality a star burned warm and fierce and bright. But from down here on earth? Unreachable, untouchable, a pinprick of light without heat. I could love Gray-sama to the moon and back but it wasn't enough, would never be enough. By the time my feelings reached him, if they every did, I'd find that his star had burned out a millennia ago. Catch his heart? I'd have better luck trying to catch the wind.

"Juvia wonders if being emotionless is really such a bad thing." I used to be like a star. Nothing could faze me, nothing could hurt me because I'd damn near been through the seven circles of hell and hit rock bottom already. No one came close to me. I was aloof, quiet and wore the bone chilling dampness of the rain like a coat of armour the entire time I'd been in Phantom Lord. I'd been close to burning out too, until Makarov-sensei helped me.

When I moved to Magnolia I'd been planning to be, at best, platonic about my relationships with fellow students. I'd be polite, unassuming and try not to draw too much attention to myself or Gajeel-kun. This was our fresh start and a chance to make myself over as a sweet girl, a nice girl. The girl I might have always been if my parents hadn't squeezed the joy out of everything good about life and Bora hadn't made me feel tarnished and worthless. I don't know when my new start had been corrupted.

Never mind. I knew. It started the moment I bumped into the boy with the dark hair and piercing blue eyes. The boy who'd stolen my breath and my heart in one fell swoop, and given me nothing but pain in return.

"Juvia is tired of hurting so much. Maybe Juvia should just stop caring again."